Prospect Talent Score

Probability of Success

History

2008-09: Samu Perhonen spent most of the season with the JYP U-16 Junior “C” team. In 14 games, he posted a 2.72 goals-against average and a .925 save percentage.

2009-10: In 8 games for JYP's U-18 Junior B team, Perhonen posted a 3.27 goals-against average and a .875 save percentage.

2010-11: Perhonen played most of the season with JYP's U-20 Junior A team. In 29 games, he posted a 2.71 goals-against average and a .922 save percentage. Perhonen played for Finland at the 2011 U-18 World Junior Championship, where he finished with a 3.52 goals-against average and a .875 save percentage in 4 games.

2011-12: Illness and injury during the summer were a precursor of what would be a very trying season for Perhonen. Affter being drafted by the Oilers in June 2011, Perhonen missed time early in the year and then struggled to find ice time both with JyP-Akatemia in Mestis and with Jyp's U-20 team – as the club had two other impressive 19-year-old goalies. He played 11 games with JyP-Akatemia and was 3-8 with a 3.81 goals against and .887 save percentage. In five junior games he posted a 3.14 goals against and .923 save percentage. He was called up to JyP's SM-Liiga squad late in the season as a third goalie and was with JyP during it's championship playoff run but did see any game action.

Talent Analysis

Perhonen is the definition of a player with all the tools but significant questions about the toolbox. He has tremendous size, speed, athleticism, and reflexes, but his mental game--positioning, consistency, etc--is severely lacking at this point. While it's a good sign that the areas currently lacking can presumably be taught, he is still a long way from putting it all together.

Future

Goalies are difficult to project at the best of times, and in Perhonen's case it's almost impossible. He has the physical tools to be an NHL calibre starter, however has struggled thus far in Finland's lower leagues and junior leagues. There is nothing to genuinely suggest he will emerge as anything more than an average Finnish League goalie at this point but he has a tantalizing set of skills that will buy him much more time to develop than many other goalies would get.

Photo: HPK Hameenlinna goaltender and Nashville Predators prospect Juuse Saros has appeared in 39 international contests for Finland over the past five seasons (courtesy of Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

Finland has consistently produced NHL-caliber goalies in recent years. While some were never drafted and signed after establishing themselves in the domestic Liiiga — such as Chicago’s Antti Raanta or Antti Niemi of San Jose — there have also been some high profile draft picks like Tuukka Rask and Pekka Rinne who are enjoying great NHL careers. Read more»

Photo: HPK Hameenlinna goaltender and Nashville Predators prospect Juuse Saros turned in a stellar performance at the 2014 World Junior Championship, helping to lead Finland to their first gold medal at the U20 WJC since 1998 (courtesy of Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

No country has had as much success developing goaltenders in recent years as Finland.

But with 14 Finland-trained goalies playing in North America and another nine playing in Europe in either the KHL or in Sweden's SHL, the number of drafted prospects playing in Finland's Liiga has dwindled to just five.

Photo: Although limited by injury in 2012-13, Oscar Klefbom has ample experience playing professionally and on the international stage for Sweden (courtesy of Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

The Edmonton Oilers had four prospects playing in Europe for the 2012-13 season, the most notable being defensive prospect Oscar Klefbom who, despite being injured for the majority of the 2012-13 season, is one of the Oilers’ most anticipated defensive prospects. The Oilers also have defenseman Erik Gustafsson and a pair of goaltending prospects with Samu Perhonen and Frans Tuohimaa who are both showing signs of potential, although neither are quite blue chip prospects as of yet.

Photo: Teemu Hartikainen may not be the most glamorous prospect in the Oilers' system, but the hard-nosed winger is once again skating with the big club in Edmonton. (courtesy of Vincent Muzik/Icon SMI)

As a team that has taken the number one draft selection in the league for the past three years, the Edmonton Oilers are in a unique position. Their last three number one picks have been an almost sure-bet to enter straight onto the Oilers roster at the beginning of the next season and were expected to make a big splash for a team that desperately needed some new blood, starting with Taylor Hall in 2010-11, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins in 2011-12, and Nail Yakupov in 2012-13. This leaves the potential for the remaining draft pool to be a bit sparse, but the Oilers have managed to maintain some depth in their pipeline.

Photo: After playing the 2009-10 season int he WHL, Toni Rajala returned to the SM-liiga where he has played since. In 2011-12, Rajala managed 16 goals and 13 assists with Ilves Tampere. (Photo courtesy of Aaron Bell/CHL)

Outside of 2011 first round pick Oscar Klefbom, the picture in Europe and in the NCAA for the Oilers is one of depth prospects and long shots. This is in part due to a preference for CHL players in the Stu McGregor draft era, and in part due to some of the higher quality Europeans and college picks (like Tyler Pitlick, Martin Marincin, and Martin Gernat) making the move to the CHL after they were drafted. Beyond Klefbom, for whom the organization has high hopes, any of these players who become even a quality depth NHL player would be considered a bonus for the team.